With only 19 errors in the first two sets on Saturday, Jamestown coach Sara Hegerle didn’t expect to be down 2-0.

Bismarck St. Mary’s, however, made just 14 including five in the second set.

“We’re playing with so few errors now,” St. Mary’s coach Amy Heuer said. “That’s been our biggest improvement.”

St. Mary’s had just 32 total errors, holding off the Blue Jays for a thrilling 25-23, 25-22, 13-25, 12-25, 15-13 triumph at the JHS gym. It’s the first West Region championship for the Saints, who entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed.

“They’re clicking; they know each other so well,” Heuer said of her team. “They’re able to make adjustments when they need to.”

St. Mary’s gets the No. 1 seed and plays East Region No. 4 seed Fargo South at 6 p.m. in the opening round of the Class A state tournament Thursday at the Minot State Dome. Second-seeded Jamestown meets third-seeded Grand Forks Red River at 2 p.m.

“We’re looking for the prize at the end,” Jamestown coach Sara Hegerle said. “We’re still a very good team to contend for that spot.”

It was a tough loss for Jamestown considering it also made only 32 errors. The Blue Jays clearly figured out they had to up their game, making only 10 total errors for dominant wins in set three and four. In fact, in set 3, Jamestown didn’t have an error until it was ahead 17-5.

“We kind of figured things out and got on a little bit of a run,” Hegerle said. “That felt good. I’m happy with how we played.”

The teams traded points in the fifth set up to 11, when Allie Reisenauer served an ace and Ashley Wanner put up a block to give the Saints a two-point lead at 13-11.

Jamestown’s Addie Eamon answered with a kill and after Mary Roller’s kill brought St. Mary’s to match point, Eamon had another kill to get within one at 14-13. The Saints clinched the win on a hitting error. They were led by Roller’s 13 kills.

Hegerle praised the play of St. Mary’s. The Blue Jays (32-4) were paced by Eamon and Jenna Stilwell, who had 21 and 17 kills, respectively.

“(St. Mary’s) deserved everything they got,” Hegerle said. “They’re well-coached and their kids are awesome. I don’t have any problems losing to St. Mary’s.

“My kids are disappointed. But if you’re not disappointed after you lose, then there’s something wrong with you. We’re not used to losing. Sometimes, you have to lose to figure out what’s going on.”

State-qualifiers

Bismarck Century and Bismarck High both swept en route to punching their ticket to the Class A state tournament.

Aarhus has been a sportswriter for the Jamestown Sun since May of 2012. Prior to that, he was the sports editor at the Minot Daily News and The Daily Republic in Mitchell, S.D. He also worked as a sports writer at The Dickinson Press. He was honored as North Dakota's Sportswriter of the Year for 2014.